The invention relates to improvements in torque converters and, more particularly, to improvements in hydrokinetic torque converters which are equipped with so-called lockup or bypass clutches.
A hydrokinetic torque converter normally comprises a rotary housing which can be affixed to the output element of a prime mover, such as a combustion engine in a motor vehicle. It normally includes a wall extending substantially radially of the axis of rotation of the housing and disposed between the output element of the prime mover and the turbine of the torque converter; The lockup clutch is installed between the radially extending wall Of the housing and the turbine, as seen in the axial direction of the housing. As a rule, the lockup clutch comprises a lamella, which constitutes a friction disc, that cooperates with an axially movable piston of the lockup clutch. The piston is displaceable in directions toward and away from the wall of the housing in response to the establishment of a pressure differential between the bodies of hydraulic fluid at opposite sides of the piston. Reference may be had, for example, to published German patent application Ser. No. 38 23 210. Reference may also be had to U.S. Pat. No. 4,969,543 granted Nov. 13, 1990 to Macdonald for "Slipping Bypass Clutch Construction for a Hydrokinetic Torque Converter" and/or to commonly owned copending patent application Ser. No. 08/272,920 filed Jul. 8, 1994 by Dieter Otto and Volker Middlemann for "Hydrokinetic Torque Converter and Lockup Clutch Therefor".